Weeknight Lamb Recipe | Leafy Greens with Lamb

Looking for an easy weeknight lamb recipe? This Leafy Greens with Lamb combines ground lamb with simple pantry ingredients for a satisfying and comforting dish.

Weeknight Lamb Recipe

Leafy Greens with Lamb is probably one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. I crave this dish every time I need a simple home-cooked meal. I like to pile on the plain yogurt, sprinkle with Aleppo pepper, and slice crusty bread for dipping. Ground lamb, full of flavor and nutrients, is a common ingredient in middle eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, yet underutilized in the United States. In this dish, a small amount of ground lamb is combined with a large amount of leafy greens of your choice, creating a dish that is essentially “flavored” with ground lamb. Traditionally, in the villages of Turkey, copious amounts of wild greens are gathered for this dish.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Leafy Greens with Lamb with good crusty bread for dipping, and plain yogurt as a topping (pictured). Or try as a side dish alongside grilled or roasted meats.

Leafy Greens with Lamb

A super nutrient dense and comforting dish, perfect for a light dinner or side dish. Adapted from Paula Wolfert.

Instructions

Wash mixed greens well, and separate stems from leaves. Chop or tear any large leaves into pieces. Slice stems thinly. Set aside to drain.

Finely chop onion. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a high-sided skillet, add onion and salt and onion for about 2 minutes. If using chopped stems, add them here with the onion. Add the lamb, breaking up with a metal spoon, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, allspice, black pepper, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Stir in the chopped greens and rice. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking the rice until soft, 20 minutes. When rice is soft, taste and adjust for salt. Serve warm. This dish is delicious accompanied by plain yogurt (as pictured) and crusty bread, if desired.